Twilight Princess The Novel
by MetroidMania23
Summary: Yeah...title tells all. Rated T just to be safe. First fanfiction, so it's not perfect....Yeah.... Put on DEEP hold.
1. Prologue

Twilight Princess 

**Prologue**

"Tell me..." Rusl asked. "Do you ever feel a strange sadness as dusk falls? They say it is the only time when our world intersects with theirs, the only time we can feel the linger regrets of spirits who have left our world. That is why loneliness always pervades the hour of twilight. But enough talk of sadness, I have a favor to ask of you, Link."

"Me?" A young man asked. He was seventeen years old and had dirty blonde hair.

"I was supposed to deliver something to the royal family of Hyrule he day after tomorrow."

"Didn't the mayor ask you—" Link started, but Rusl cut him off.

"Yes," he said. "It was a task set to me by the mayor but would you go in my stead?" Link didn't know what to say. "You have never been to Hyrule, right?"

"No...I-I haven't."

"In the kingdom of Hyrule there is a great castle, and around it is Castle Town, a community far bigger than our little village. And far bigger than Hyrule is the rest of the world the gods created. You should look upon it all with your own eyes."

Rusl looked over at Link with knowing eyes. Behind where they sat at the spring, Link's horse, Epona, whinnied. "It's getting late. We should head back to the village. I will talk to the mayor about this matter."

"Th-thank you Rusl," Link stuttered. "It is a great honor."

"It's nothing Link, now let's head back."

Link jumped to his feet and ran over to his horse. He grabbed the reins and walked next to Rusl. They didn't have much to say, but the twilight gave Link a serene feeling. He felt as if something terrible would be happening soon.

They reached Link's house in due time. Waiting for them was Uli, Rusl's wife, and their son, Colin. Colin was a close friend of Link's, and Link played with him on his day off.

Rusl said goodbye to Link and walked over to Colin, rumpling his hair. Colin looked back at Link and smiled. Link smiled back. He then walked into his house when he saw that they were gone.

Link had hardly been in his house for very long when a voice called, "Hey! Link! You there?" Link stuck his head out the window to see his old friend, Fado standing outside. Fado and Link worked on the Ordon Ranch together. "Hey, you mind helpin' me herd the goats? They ain't listenin' to me lately!"

Link disappeared inside his house, but he still heard Fado call, "Hey, where's Epona?"

"Ilia," Link whispered.

Link quickly ran out of his house and stopped outside the entrance to the forest. _I was just in there, _he thought, a little annoyed. Takeing a deep breath, Link rushed into the shadowy entrance of the forest.

Running down the path, Link turned into the Ordon Spring, where, unsurprising to him, he saw Ilia with his horse, Epona. With a wry smile, Link walked closer, stopping at the edge of the sand. Ilia looked up.

"Oh," Ilia said. "Hi Link." She glanced toward Epona and then back at him. "I washed Epona for you."

"Um...thanks," Link said.

"Epona is a girl too, so you have to treat her nice like one!" Ilia commented in a dry tone.

"I know, I know," Link mummbled. That wasn't the first time Ilia had said something like that to him.

"Oh, but listen Link..." Ilia said. Link glanced up to let Ilia know he was listening, then she comtinued, saying, "Could you do something for me?"

"It depends," Link responded. He knew it wouldn't be anything to difficult, but he still didn't want to have to do anything too...annoying, in his own humble opinion.

Ilia then asked, "Can you use a piece grass to play that song for me? You know, the one Epona likes?" Link smiled brightly and nodded. "I tried to play it for Epona," Ilia added, "but I just can't seem to play it the way you can, Link."

Link wasn't really surprised. He could do many things other villagers of Ordon couldn't. Looking around, he found pieces of horse grass, as he himself had named it, growing by a rock. Walking over, he bent down and pulled one out, playing the all too farmiliar song. Epona moved closer to him.

"It's such a nice melody," Ilia said vaguley. "Epona looks happy."

"Is that all?" Link asked her. "Or would you like me to do something else? I have to get back to the Ordon Ranch pretty soon."

"Well," Ilia said, "Epona's all prettied up now, so you can ride her back. But don't make her do too much, okay?"

"Alright, see you tomorrow, Ilia," Link said. He ran up to Epona and got quickly and nimbly into the saddle. He quickly brought Epona into a gallop and together they quickly returned to Ordon Village. Inside the village, Link noticed that the villagers were gathered into, almost, random clusters of people.

Noticeing him, one of the women of the village, Sera, said, "Ah, if it isn't young Link."

"Hello Sera," Link said, trotting over to her on Epona.

"Are you going to close down the ranch for the day?" she inquired. Link nodded. "I just closed the shop, myself. I'm sure you know about the mischevious that have been coming into town lately...those things worry me a bit."

"Monkeys?" Link wondered out loud.

"I'd better lock up tight," Sera continued, as if Link hadn't said anything. "I couldn't stand to have anymore goods stolen. Can't trust the good-for-nothing husband to do anything right..." She glanced toward her husband, Hanch, as she said that.

In her own conversation with her father, Beth, Hanch and Sera's daughter, said, "C'mon Dad! You can't catch a silly little monkey?"

"Uhh...Well...No. No I can't," Hanch said feebly.

"Oh, listen to us babble," Sera said. "I didn't mean to keep you. All right, off to work with you."

"It's alright, I'm sure Fado won't mind, and have a good night," Link said, turning Epona in the direction of the ranch.

Link hadn't gone very far when he saw Rusl, Uli, and Colin.

Rusl was practicing with his sword, swinging it in complex ways and using strategic moves Link new would take him years to master.

Moving Epona towards them, Link called to Rusl, "Nice moves!"

"Ah, great timing, Link!" Rusl said, stopping and sticking his sword in the ground. "There was something I had forgotten to tell you." He took a deep breath before continuing. "My son Colin is making a fishing rod so the two of you can play together. He should finish it today, so you come get it at my house tomorrow."

"Alright, see you tomorrow then," Link said, continuing on his way.

The next person Link met was the mayor, Bo. Bo was Ilia's father, so of course he and Link were close.

Seeing Link, Bo said, "Oh. Link. Looks like you're goin' to help Fado." Link nodded. "Good job. He headed up to the ranch ahead of you. You go finish up your chores before the sun goes down."

"I will, good night, mayor," Link said, forcing Epona into a gallop so that he could get up to the ranch all the more faster.

The moment he got there, Fado called Link over to him and said, "Sorry to get you over here in such a hurry, Link!" Looking fondly around at the goats, Fado said, "These guys have been awful skittish lately. They won't listen to a word I say."

"So that means...?" Link wondered.

"Sorry to ask, bud, but how's about you an' Epona herd 'em into the barn real quick? We ain't got much time, so you think you can do that for me?"

"Sure," Link said slowly.

"Much oblidged, bud! Okay then, go on an' herd all these little scamps into the barn for me!"

The confluence of goats in the field shriveled and expanded like a school of fish as Link herded them into the barn. It took less than three minutes, but the sun was almost twice as low as it was when they had started.

"Done!" Link called over to Fado when he finished.

Running over, Fado said, "Link, Epona...Much oblidged to both y'all!" He looked at Link with a skeptic eye. "I can cover everythin' tomorrow without havin' to trouble you, to sit back an' relax, bud!"

"Are you sure Fado, I mean-" Link cut off when Fado gave him a stern look.

"Oh...but how 'bout today? Wanna pratice with fences?"

"Sure! That sounds like fun!"

"Just wait a spell, bud. I'll get them fences up."

A few moments later, fences were set up alond a path on in the field. Fado glanced over at Link, who was still sitting on Epona, and said, "Sorry that took so long! Okay, then! Y'all ride all you want. When y'all get tired of riding, just jump the gate and head back into the village, okay bud?"

"Got it," Link said.

Link spun Epona around. Facing the first fence, he set off at a gallop. Not too long after he had started, he jammed his heels into Epona's side, and she moved even faster, than right when he got to the fence, Epona jumped staright over it.

He ran around the feild a few times. But as the sun was just sinking lower and lower, so Link decided that he should get home. He ran toward the gate, and called over his shoulder, "See ya, Fado!" Link jumped over the fence and ran into the twilight. He didn't know that this was the beginning of his adventures. The beginning of a long, tidious journey, one that would save the world.


	2. Chapter 1

We all know who this is copyright of. If you don't...Wow.

**Chapter 1**

"Hey, wake up Link! It's morning already!"

The voice of a young boy broke through the silence of the early morning. A disgruntled Link, got slowly out of his bed, stretching. Quickly getting dressed, her rushed up to his third-floor window, and looked outside.

Outside, Link can see three children standing outside his house – Beth, Talo, Jaggle and Perdy's son, and his brother, Malo. The stood facing each other, and seemed to be arguing.

Running outside, the easternly sun dissolved what little haze was left over in Link's eyes. Climbing down his ladder, Link walked timidly over to the children, who immediately started talking.

"Oh, Link!" Talo said almost automatically. "Didja hear?"

"Hear what?" Link asked, knowing he had to be patient.

"They're selling a slingshot at the store right now!" Talo yelled estaticly. "A SLINGSHOT!"

"A slingshot," Link said, trying to sound as estatic as Talo. "Wow, wish I had."

"I wonder how powerful it is..." Malo said softly. He was the youngest member of the village, but it seemed, the most mature of the children. "I...I need...I must try it..."

Beth then snapped, "Talo, if you and Malo want it so badly, just buy it at my parents' shop!" Link decided it was best for him not to say anything.

"Do you see any Rupees in my hands?" Talo hissed angrily. "I can't afford that thing! C'mon, Beth, can't you just loan it to us for a while?"

"You know I'd get in trouble for that! If you two want it, save up your allowances or something."

"But our allowances are terrible. Aww, I wish I was born into a family with a slingshot instread of a waterwheel."

Link saw that the conversation wasn't going anywhere, so he looked around, hoping to find Colin.

Colin was, as was usual for him, angled away from the other children, and was dutifully guarding Epona. Link walked over to him, smiling brightly.

"Hi Link," Colin said timidly. "You have the day off work today, right?"

"Yeah," Link said slowly.

"So...I finished that fishing rod I was making," Colin stated. "Link, I figured I'd just give it to you first thing this morning, but my dad said, 'You just wait until Link comes to get it!' So I didn't bring it to you..."

"That's all right," Link said, waving his hand vaguely. "I'll just go and get it, I have time today, nothing for me to do or anything."

Link walked toward Epona and started to get into the saddle, but before he could, Colin said, "You have the day off form work, don't you, Link?" Link nodded. "You have to give Epona a day off too. Poor girl..."

"I guess you're right..." Link took a deep breath and looked off toward the path that led to the main part of Ordon Village. Link walked toward it, taking a deep breath of the cool morning air.

--

While entering the village, Link noticed that, even though it was already early morning, the village was already bustling with activity.

Seeing Hanch standing by Fado's house, and remembering the slingshot, Link walked over and said, "Morning Hanch."

"Well, hey, morning Link," Hanch said. "Got the day off form work today, m'boy?"

"Yes," Link said, smiling. "Fado said he could handle everything for himself today. I worry about him up there alone though."

"Not me. The wife's been hassling me...Today's the day we restock the store."

"Yeah, I heard Beth talking about the slingshot you got in. What are you trying to get though, maybe it's something I could help with?"

"Look! See? Up there in that tree." Link glanced up to see an Ordon Bee hive resting in the tree above Fado's house.

"Ordon Bees..." Link whispered, wondering what Hanch needed them for.

"Yeah, some Ordon Bees built themselves a fine nest up there, and I was thinking about knocking it down." Changing the subject, Hanch also added, "Our cat hasn't been home since yesterday, so the wife's in a bad mood. At the very least, I need to bring something home to her."

"That might help," Link stated pointedly. "But I still don't get why you want to get that nest knocked down."

"I want to knock that nest down so I can get the bee larva inside!" Hanch stated exasperatedly.

"That makes sense know," Link muttered. "Well, I should be going." With that he walked away.

Link decided that maybe if Hanch wouldn't tell him, he would go and see for himself how much the slingshot was, and he only hoped it was cheap enough for him to buy.

When he walked in, he noticed that the atmosphere was a lot gloomier than outside. "Hello Sera," he said as he walked inside.

"Ohhhh...Awww...Oh, my...It's young Link..." Sera said sadly, sighing deeply. "Welcome, m'dear...You...you didn't happen to see my little cat out there, did you?" Link shook his head. "He ate the fish we were going to have for supper last night, and I gave him a good scolding...but then he went out and hasn't returned...I'm so fraught with worry for him... I've exhausted myself..."

"That must be terrible," Link pointed out. Sera acted as if she hadn't heard him. "Well, I'll see if I can find you're cat, I'll see you later, Sera."

Link gladly walked out into the bright, warm sunlight. Link deicded that he had better see Uli before he forgot, so he headed off in the direction of Rusl's house. Before he even got there, he met up with Uli.

"Uli!" Link called, getting her attention.

"Oh, um, good morning to you," Uli said. She sounded just as timid as Colin did. "If you are looking for my husband, he took his sword and left early this morning." She paused. "But I must ask, Link... You have not seen a cradle come floating by here, have you?"

"What does it look like?" Link wondered.

"It is a baby's cradle made of finely woven tree bark." Uli took a deep breath. "Oh, such a misfortune...How far could it have drifted, I wonder?"

Promising to help find it, Link walked away, knowing he would never get the fishing rod if he didn't find the cradle first.

Link wandered aimlessly around the village. He didn't know where he was supposed to go to look for the cradle, nor what the cradle even looked like.

During his aimless wondering, a voice called down to Link, "Yo Link! Yo, up here! I wanna talk to you!"

Link looked around, and then he saw Jaggle standing on one of the raised rocks that was in the large pond in off to one side of the village.

"Hi Jaggle!" Link called back up.

"Hey there you go! Over here!" Jaggle smirked. "Your voice carries well, as usual! So listen, why don't you climb up those vinces there, Link?"

"Looks possible," Link said, walking over. Glancing vaguley at them, he grabbed as high as he could to reach the top of the vines, and then slowly started climbing. It wasn't difficult for him – he was very athletic – so he quickly got to the top.

"Yo! There you are!" Jaggle said. "Check this out...You know Sera, at the general store?"

"I would hope so," Link said.

"Well, isn't that her cat over there?" He pointed over by his house, where standing by the dock, was a black and white cat – Sera's cat.

"So it is..."

"He's just been sitting there next to my house, having a staring contest with the creek. You don't suppose he thinks he's gonna catch a fish, do you? Ha ha ha! A cat can't catch no fish!" Link had to laugh at that. "Anyway, that's not what I was meaning to tell you about. I want you to take a look at something..."

"What is it?"

"See that grass growing there on the edge of the rock?" He pointed to a rock not far from the one he and Link where standing. Some grass was growing on there, grass that Link recognized all too well. "Haven't I seen you whistling with that stuff?" Link nodded. "I figured it was pretty rare to see it growing in a place like that, so I thought I'd let you know. I bet you could hop across these rocks with just a quick little hop, couldn't you?"

"Yeah, I'm sure I could," Link said thoughtfully. "Thanks for showing me, I'm sure this'll come in handy." Jaggle nodded.

Link glanced over the distance between the two rocks, and took a small hop across. Landing lightly and smoothly on the other side, he walked over to the grass and blowed into it. Creating an interesting tune.

A hawk came to him and landed on his arm, but he sent it away. Jumping across to the final rock, he decided that maybe the elevated height might help him find the cradle. Link was surprised when he did find it.

Not too far from him, he could see one of the monkeys Sera had mentioned, and it was holding the cradle above its head, and seemed to be laughing at him. An idea suddenly came to him.

Calling another hawk to him, he set it off at the monkey. He couldn't really see what happened, but the hawk came back, holding the cradle in its talons. Grabbing the cradle, and holding it under his arm, Link turned around and hopped across the rocks. He then quickly jumped down.

Running towards Uli, Link called, "Uli! I found it!"

Uli looked up and saw Link coming towards her, the cradle in his arms. "Oh! Link! That cradle!" she said, surprised. "Did you go through the trouble of finding it for me?" Link nodded brightly. "My thanks to you...Do you think you could carry that cradle and come with me back to my house?"

"Sure, it's not hard," Link said. Link carried the cradle up to Uli's house – it wasn't hard.

"My thanks to you Link," Uli said. "Yes, yes...I had nearly forgotten...I am supposed to give you this..." Uli walked into the house, and came out holding a fishing rod. "All right...here you go..." She handed it to him.

"Thank you Uli," Link said gratefully.

"It is a little...unpolished," Uli admitted. "My son, Colin, made it under the instruction of his father. You can use it if you like."

"Thanks, I better go tell Colin I got it."

--

A/N:

I'd like to thank the people who reviewed, and (because there aren't that many) I actually can respond.

jess666400 - thanks. Link doesnt talk at all, but you know what, now he does. Why? Because I said so, lol.

Riley Manx - thanks, to you too. No, I didn't sit in front of the screen while playing Twilight Princess and write down what everyone said, my friend sent me this...script in an e-mail, so I use that.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Link ran quickly back to his house, where, unsurprising to him, the children still stood there, in the same spots as he had left them in the morning.

Walking over to Colin, Link said, "Colin, I have to show you something." He held out the fishing rod.

"Oh, you got it..." Colin murmured. "I hope you like it."

Link smiled, and rumpled Colin's hair like Rusl always did. Walking back toward the village, he decided that maybe he would use the fishing rod and see how it worked. He knew that there were fish by Jaggle and Pegie's house.

Sitting by the dock outside the house, Link cast the fishing rod into the water. Sera's cat had run away, so it wasn't there to bother him.

Watching the bobber carefully, Link noticed that it started sinking. Jerking his arm up, he pulled against the force of the fish, and watched slowly as the hook came out of the water, with a greengill clinging to it.

Smiling, he put the fish down next to him. He heard a noise behind him, and saw Sera's cat sitting a short distance away. Ignoring him, Link decided he would catch another fish. This one went twice as fast.

When he released the fish, he was about to throw it back into the pond, when Sera's cat jumped forward and grabbed it. Link watched in shock as the cat ran back the Sera's store.

Link jumped to his feet and went to the store, shocked at the events. When he entered, he noticed how happy Sera looked, and that her cat was lapping up milk in a bowl.

"Oh, my, Link!" Sera said. "Come in!" She smiled brightly. "You simply MUST hear this! Just take a look! My little kitty came back! And he brought a fish with him. Do you think he caught it? Maybe he's a genious?"

"Maybe," Link said, not daring to tell Sera that he had caught the fish, not her precious cat.

"Ohhh, just look. Isn't he so cute, the way he laps up that milk?" Link nodded. "Say, m'dear, why don't you have some too? I'm in a good mood, so it's on the house today!"

She handed Link a half-empyt bottle of milk. Link glanced half-heartedly at it, but drank the remainder of the bottle so as not to seem rude. He started the hand the bottle back, but Sera stopped him.

"Oh, don't worry, you don't have to return the empty bottle, m'dear," Sera said brightly. "You can reuse it—you know, put something else in it. Recycling is a very important thing, m'dear!"

"I'm sure it is."

"I'm sure YOU'D never do anything of the sort, but kids these days toss things out like the whole world was disposable! It's criminal!"

Link nodded in agreement. "That does seem criminal."

"So, what do you say, m'dear? Is there anything you want today? Feel free to look around."

Link glanced around, and saw what the children had been talking about. The slingshot sat there, with a sign under it that said: "SLINGSHOT, 30 RUPEES."

"Just enough," Link muttered under his breath. He pointed at the slingshot and said to Sera, "The slingshot, please." He pulled out thirty Rupees as he said that.

"The slingshot is thirty Rupees, are you sure you want to buy it, m'dear?" Link nodded. "What are you doing buying a slingshot, you naughty thing? You're too old for toys! Will you at least let the children play with it?" she added earnestly.

"That's the reason I bought it in the first place," Link felt the need to explain.

"Oh, I should tell you, if you happen to run out of pellets, you can also use pumpkin seeds."

"Thank you!"

Link walked out. The moment he was outside, he ran to his house, knowing that the children would want to know that he had the slingshot. But before he could even talk to the children, he met Rusl.

"Ah, just in time Link," he said. "I just delivered something to your room!"

"Alright!" Link said. Rusl noticed his fishing rod.

"Oh, I see you got the fishing rod. Colin will be pleased. And it works better than you would think, right?"

"He already knows, Rusl. But it does work pretty well."

"Well, have a good one."

"You too."

Link walked over to the children. Talo was the first to notice the slingshot.

"Link has the slingshot! WHOA!" he yelled. Beth and Malo looked over the moment the word slingshot escaped Talo's mouth.

"Wow!" Beth said. "You had enough money to buy it, Link?" He nodded.

Before Link knew it, the children had set up a course for Link to show off the slingshot to them. He smiled, it wasn't very difficult, but it would still be a little bit of a challenge.

"Preperation complete," Malo whispered. He always had a quiet voice.

"Okay," Talo said, "wow, this is great! Let's see how powerful that slingshot is! Hit the targets AND the scarecrows!"

"That doesn't sound very hard," Link pointed out. He pulled the slingshot out, set a pellet in, and pulled back. Releasing it, he hit the traget. The children were estatic.

He continued hitting targets. It grew continually easier the more he shot.

When the final target was destroyed, all of the children cried, "Whoa! Amazing Link!"

"Hyahh!" Beth cried. "Thanks Link!"

"Gee," Talo said, "you really are amazing Link!"

"By the way," Beth said. "Were you expecting Colin's dad to bring something by here? 'Cause he did."

"No," Link said, shaking his head.

"Oh, yeah! That's right...What was that, anyway?"

"I demand you to tell us!" Malo said.

Link smiled and nodded.

He turned and walked toward his house. Climbing the ladder, he walkd toward the door and flung it open. He walked into his house.

A chest sat in the center of his house. Link walked toward it, wondering what Rusl could have possibly left him. He leaned forward and flung it open.

Inside the chest sat his own wooden sword. Rusl must have finnished honing it for him, and decided to return it. Strapping it to his back, Link straightened. He then quickly walked out of his house.

Jumping down, Link walked forward and showed pulled out the wooden sword, showing it to the children.

"Ooh, my!" Beth said happily. "Isn't that a wooden sword, Link?" Link smiled.

"Whoa..." Talo said. "She's right! Hey, can I see it for a sec?"

"I'm not so sure about that," Link said quietly.

"Seriously!" Talo said. "Lately those monkeys have been coming out of the woods and playing tricks on us! We want to get them GOOD! C'mon, teach us how to use a sword!"

"I guess I could teach you how."

"YES!"

Before Link knew it, he was standing before a scarecrow, his sword drawn in his left hand. Talo had a stick in his hand, which was supposed to serve as a wooden sword of his own.

"All right!" Talo said in an excited voice. "First, off we wanna see THAT move!"

"Which one?" Link asked, slightly confuse.

"The slice!" Talo exclaimed.

Link looked at the scarecrow for a splitt second before swinging his sword in a horizontal motion. The children were estatic.

"Ooh! Ooh!" Beth squealed. "I wanna see that other move, Link!"

"Which one?"

"The one where you flex your muscles and...stab!"

"...Oh please," Malo muttered. "The stab?"

Link smiled and thrust his sword forward at the scarecrow.

"Ooh, Link!" Beth exclaimed. "Just amazing! Since you're at it, how about you show us that other move..." Link was starting to get a little annoyed at their lack of description. "Y'know, that little twirly thing you do! I love that! What do you call it? A spin attack?"

"Yeah," Link said.

The spin attack was a little tricker thatn anything else Link had showed them, but he still did it flawlessly. He spun around in a circle, swing his sword as he did. The scarecrow flopped helplessly.

"Ooh, WOW!" Beth said. "Thanks Link!" She glance quickly at Malo and Talo. "I'm sorry you have to wast your time with these little brats when you must be tired from doing all the important stuff you do!"

"No," Link said. "I'm fine."

"Hey, wait!" Talo cried. "You've gotta show us the jump attack before you go! You know, the one where you go 'HYAAH!' and leap into the air!"

Link jumping straight into the air. "HYAAH!" he yelled, driving his sword through the scarecrow, cutting it in half. "Oops," he whispered.

"WHOA!" the three children cried at once.

Once Link had put his sword back in its place on his back, Talo said, "Thanks Link! So, uh, I...I think I get it...Kinda...Hmm...Maybe not..." He shrugged his shoulders and Link smiled. "So this means that any time one of those naughty monkeys shows up..." He stopped, and suddenly cried, "WAH!"

A monkey was standing by the entrance to the Faron Woods. The children all sneered at it. The monkey turn and ran away, towards the forest.

"C'MERE YOU!" Talo yelled, as he and the other children chased after it, into to Faron Woods.

"Hey!" Link cried. "Don't go in there!"

But it was too late.


	4. Chapter 3

Yeah, I haven't had a lot of time to type this out. I've been really busy lately, with my writing tournament and stuff. It's getting kind of tedious.

Yeah, yeah, the characters belong to Nintendo and w/e.

--

**Chapter 3**

Link looked straight at the spot between the trees where the children had disappeared between. He didn't know what to say or do. He looked over at the entrance to Ordon Village, wondering if he should go back and find help.

He saw Colin standing there, looking timid. "Colin," Link said to the child, quickly. "If your dad comes, I want you to tell him that the other children ran into the Faron Woods, and that I went after him." Before Colin could respond, Link ran up to Epona, jumped onto her, and galloped into the woods.

He charged down the path, stopping when he saw Beth. "Beth!" he said, pulling the reins back, and stopping Epona. "Where's the others?"

"Talo and Malo went chasing like crazy people after that monkey," Beth explained. "I can't keep up with those two."

Link nodded, and spurred Epona forward. He continued down the path until he saw the enter to the beautiful Ordon Spring, with Malo standing in front of it, panting. "They went that way," Malo said, when Link stopped. "The rest is up to you Link."

Link spurred his horse forward again. As he crossed the bridge over the huge ravine, he forced Epona into a gallop. He charged down the path between the trees, jumping over a gate that blocked his way.

He didn't stop, not even when Epona's sides started heaving. He passed by the Faron Spring, which was just as beautiful as the Ordon Spring. Finally, he came to a tunnel, which Epona refused to enter, despite his urging.

Getting off of his horse, Link walked forward to the entrance to the cave, stopping. On the ground was the stick Talo had used as a mock sword while Link was explaining how to use it. Link plunged into the dark depths of the tunnel.

There was hardly any light deep within the tunnel, and but there were many Keese, Rats, and Deku Babas. He walked down the winding path, destorying any monsters he could actually see. He stopped before a huge spider web. He pulled out his wooden sword and swung at it, trying with all of his might to break through the web, but to no avail.

Seeing no other option, he deicded to turn back and see if he could find another way to Talo. Outside, he walked down another path, just to the right of the one he had come by. Turning down it, he saw a hut, with a man sitting before a fire outside.

Link walked up to him. "Um, hello," he said nervously. "I was wondering if there was any way to get through the tunnel to the other section of the Faron Woods." There was more light in the clearing than in any other section of the Faron Woods he had been in so far, so he squinted.

The man looked up. He had an afro, and on the top sat a bird's nest, with birds perched on it. "Whoa!" the man said. "An Ordonian! Hey, guy! Listen, I'm not sure if you should be wandering around the woods without a lantern. Just because it's daylight doesn't mean it's safe. There's a ton of caves and dank spots around here that get pretty dark even in the middle of the day."

"So I've noticed," Link said cooly, folding his arms.

"Here! Go on, guy. Take this!" The strange man held out his hand and offered Link a lantern.

"Thank you," Link said, taking it. It seemed old, but Link knew it would be sufficient.

"See, I sell lantern oil here," the man explained. "I'm trying to drum up sails by giving away free lanterns! It's a business tactic, guy! See, as long as you got oil fuel in your lantern, you can light your way and set fire to stuff. They're the best! Go on, guy! Try setting a fire under that big pot!" He pointed to the pot that was sitting over the wood.

Link held up the lantern and turned it on tentativly. He swished it under the pot, and the wood was set ablaze. "That's right! See! It's on fire, guy! Yeah! You keep using the lantern anytime you feel the need. And if it runs out of oil, you come see me to get it refilled."

"Thanks," Link said, thinking of the spider web he could now easily burn through. The man didn't seem to notice.

When Link walked back down the path he had come, he noticed a sign. It mentioned something about visiting the man, Coro, it said his name was, and get a lantern before going down the tunnel. Link wished he would have read that earlier.

Link ran down the tunnel again, this time thrusting the lantern out in front of him. Luminous splotches of halo rings guided him through the winding cave, and while he ran, he detroyed any monsters in his path.

Link reached the other side of the etheral forest. He stopped, and looked around. Tall, wide trees were jutting up from the ground. There were strange archways in some of the trees, and Keese, Moblins, and Deku Babas were abundant.

Putting his lantern away, Link drew his wooden sword. He started to look around. He destoryed many Moblins in his path, and then he noticed something, there was a cave off to one side. He ran towards it, destroying the Moblin in his way. He pulled out his slingshot and shot down the three Keese that were perched at the entrance of the cave.

He walked in, pulling out his lantern again. Inside was a Moblin and two Keese. It was easy taking them down. It seemed he was inside a tree itself. There was a small chest sitting at the end of the cave, and behind it was an elevated platform.

Walking forward, Link kicked open the chest, and pulled out a key. He didn't know what he needed it for, but he decided that it would be best just to keep it, you never know what you might need it for.

He excited the cave, and was greeted by a Moblin, which he easily dispatched with four swings of his sword. He ran around once more, trying to find a way to Talo. He did find his way, and he realized that the key was used to open the door.

Running forward, Link killed the two Moblins, opened the door, and killed the Moblin which stood guard behind it. He ran into yet another, but this time shorted, tunnel, and outside into a clearing.

Two Moblins stood talking to each other. Link ran forward, killed them, and ran through an opening, and dispatched two more Moblins. It was easy, almost effortless to him, even if it was the first time he had ever fought creatures.

He noticed that in the clearing, another stand stood in a corner, with a bird, which had an afro, seemed to be manning it, and that there was a winding, unstable path which led to an entrance far away. Straining his eyes, Link saw that there was something up there, though he couldn't distern what it was.

Link ran up the path, carefully. When he reached the top, he saw two Moblins guarding a a cage, and inside the cage was Talo and the monkey he had been chasing after. Link cut through the Moblins as if it were nothing, and then he walked up to the cage. Unsure of what to do, he carefully, slashed at it with his wooden sword. The broke, freeing Talo and the monkey.

Walking out of the winding cave, Link stopped Talo and looked down at him. "Well?" Link asked.

"If you hadn't come, Link..." Talo muttered. "Gee, me and that monkey would've gotten eaten, probably! She's actually a pretty nice gal, that monkey. She tried to protect me, so we got captured together. Um, Link...You're not gonna mention this to my dad, are you?"

"No," Link said thoughtfully. "I don't think so."

"He's always telling me to never, EVER go into the forest, 'cause he says it's dangerous," Talo explained.

"Well, he's right," Link pointed out. "I mean, look at what happened to you."

"So you really can't tell him!" Talo said seriously. "Really! You have to promise!" He waited for Link to say something.

Finally, Link said, "Alright, I promise. I won't tell your dad that you went into the forest."

Talo smiled and ran away, back toward the village. Link watched him run off. From his left, a voice, called, "Link!"

Link looked up to see Rusl walking toward him.

"My son told me that Talo disappeared and had not returned. I came as soon as I heard," Rusl explained. "But it looks like you have brought him home already...I apologize. Such a task should not fall to you."

"Don't apologize!" Link said, shocked. "It was fine, I didn't mind doing it! As long as Talo's safe."

"Tell me, have you noticed how strange the wood seems lately?" Link nodded. "I feel...uneasy about what may lie in wait...Anyway Link, tomorrow is finally that day. You will be departing for Hyrule."

"I had forgotten!" Link admitted. He smiled slightly at the thought of being able to see more of the world.

"I think it is a good thing I have given this task to you," Rusl said. Link noticed that the sun was setting. "Good luck! And return safely! If you are lucky, you may even get to meet Princess Zelda," Rusl added, laughing.

Link smiled, and turned to walk home. He was excited about tomorrow, and he went to bed with an apprehensive feeling in his stomach. He didn't know that tomorrow would be the day his entire life would change.

--

A/N – This seems kind of short to me, but I don't know. I don't think I put some of my own opinions in it this time, did I? I hope I put enough description of the setting in there.


	5. Chapter 4

Wow, its like I died and I was never heard from again.

I was so busy recently. In the time that I disappeared from the face of the planet, I beat pretty much all the games I have for my Wii (Guitar Hero 3, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, Super Smash Brothers Brawl, My Sims, and Avatar: The Burning Earth), and I've been working on Twilight Princess for the Wii (dang, it's hard. I'm not used to the controls, and everything's backwards). Then I worked on a bunch of homework and projects and tests and speeches for school (still working on speeches). And besides, school is almost over, so that's when the stuff gets the hardest (why? No clue...).

Finally, I've been too busy watching American Idol (yay! David Cook won!) to care. Every time someone I like got voted off (Amanda Overmyer, Michael Johns, and my very favorite, Carly Smithson) I completely forget about everything else...Sorry.

Anyways, the peoples in this story belong to Nintendo. Yupp.

**Chapter 4**

Link sat on the grass outside the ranch. The light breeze blew through his hair. He had finished the majority of his chores, so he decided that he would sit down and take a break.

The peace of the day was broken when Fado called, "Hey! Link!" Link looked up and got to his feet. "So, almost time for you to get goin', huh, Link?"

"Seems that way," Link said, glancing quickly at the position of the sun in the sky.

"So how's about we finish up early today, bud?" Fado asked pleasently.

"Sounds good to me." Link quickly plucked up a piece of grass and called Epona over. Straddling up, he glanced at Fado.

"Okay, then!" Fado said happily. "Let's get started!"

Link herded the goats into the barn quickly. He didn't want to waste any more time than he had to. He herded the goats faster than usual, and even earlier, had finished his chores so quickly and precisely that Fado praised him for it.

"Hoo, boy, but y'all can herd!" Fado called when Link had finished. "That was one minute faster than usual!" He folded his arms. "Well, that about wraps 'er up for today, so how's about y'all head over to the mayor's place?"

Link said, "Right. Well, I'll see you when I get back, Fado." With that he galloped out of the field towards the mayor's house.

Outside of his house, Bo was waiting with Ilia. Ilia ran up and walked next to Link while he rode Epona down to the house.

"Oh, done herdin' for the day, Link?" Bo asked when the two reached the house.

"Yes, sir," Link said, getting off Epona and walking over.

"Well, nice work." Bo put his arm around Link and continued, "The royal gift Rusl told you about is ready, so you should get ready for your trip to Hyrule Castle. Now, the Royal Family requested this gift specifically, so it's real special. It'd be...bad...if the representative of Ordon were to be late for such an occasion, you get me, lad?"

"Yes, sir," Link repeated.

Behind them, Ilia was whispering to Epona and rubbing her. "The path before you is a long one, my sweet horse," she whispered, "but please bear Link safetly along it." She looked down at Epona's leg and stopped. "Wait..what's this?"

Ilia knelt down and looked at a cut on Epona's left leg. "What's happened?" Ilia demanded. "She's injured, isn't she?"

"Um, well..." Link said, not knowing how to explaine to Ilia what happened.

"Link? How could you! You were pushing Epona too hard again! I bet you hurt her leg jumping fences, didn't you!?"

"Ilia I-"

"Now, now, Ilia," Bo said soothingly. "There's no need to get hot with him..."

"FATHER!" Ilia screamed. "How can you be so easy on him? You're the MAYOR! You should start acting like one."

Link and Bo were both wincing, their eyes were closed and they were leaning back inwardly. They glanced at each other out of the corner of their eyes.

"You poor thing..." Ilia was continuing. "It'll be all right, Epona. I'll take you to the forest spring right now. Once we soothe you in the spirit's spring, you'll feel better in no time!"

Ilia walked away, leading Epona. Link and Bo watched her go, their mouthes wide open.

When she was considerably far away, Bo called, "W-wait! Ilia!" She didn't respond. "Why, without Epona...The gift won't get delivered in time! Oh, this won't do."

"I know," Link muttered, staring straight ahead. "I'll go and see what I can do about it." He ran after Ilia, up the road.

--

Outside of his house, Link met Colin.

"Link, are you going to see Ilia?" Colin asked. "Maybe it's just me, but those guys don't normally left people through...Um, Link, you think...you think we can go and see Ilia together?"

"Sure, come with me," Link said, leading Colin to the path were Malo and Talo stood.

"Hey, we've been waiting for you, y'know, Link," Talo said when Link and Colin walked up.

"Have you now?" Link asked.

"Yesterday was _so_ much fun! Yeah, chasing that monkey was great! I was just telling Malo here about how we wanted to show it to him, but we let it go instead."

"We did?"

"Oh, YOU didn't get caught, Talo?" Malo asked.

"Oh!" Talo cried, seeing Colin standing behind Link. "Colin! Way to spoil everything by telling your dad. Nice job."

"Yeah," Malo agreed, "thanks a lot! We got scolded by our dad something awful. I thought it was never gonna end..."

"I bet you're trying to go see Ilia, aren't you? Well, there's no way I'm gonna let you pass!"

"Talo, that's -" Link started to say.

"Oh, hey, neat! Lemme borrow that wooden sword! If I'd had that wooden sword yesterday, I could've handled it all alone, deffidently! C'mon, let me borrow that wooden sword right now."

"Sorry, kid," Link said seriously. "I can't let you use this."

"What?!" Talo cried. "Why not? It's okay! Just lemme borrow it! Look, we're never gonna let you pass here until you tell us we can borrow it, Link!"

Link didn't respond, but gave Talo a serious look.

"If you wanna get past here, Colin, you better start talking fast. Make Link let us borrow that sword."

"Sheesh," Malo said, "you ARE my brother, Talo...but that's pretty low..."

"Come one, be a pal, Link!" cried Talo. "I'll take real good care of it, so lemme borrow your wooden sword!"

Seeing no other way, Link handed his wooden sword over to Talo with a hard expression. He didn't like being seperated from it if he didn't have to.

"Whoa! YES! With this thing...I'll show 'em!" Talo and Malo ran off to Link's scarecrow, so Talo could show Malo the events of the day before.

"Link," Colin mumured. "Thanks...Those guys are always teasing me.

"What's so fun about swinging something like that around, anyway? I hate it...It's scary...

"But when I grow up, I wanna be just like you, Link! I don't want to learn about swords or anything, but could you teach me how to ride a horse?"

"Sure," Link said. "I could do that."

"Can you?! You have to promise!"

"I promise I will."

Colin ran down the path towards the spirit spring, while Link hung back slightly. He turned to look at Malo and Talo one last time before running down the path after Talo.

Link walked down the path to the gate, wondering what the best way to get Epona back from Ilia. He knew it would be difficult, but it was always worth a try.

He ran up to the spring, but it was barred by a gate. He stopped and sighed. "Link!" Colin whispered, spinning around.

Ilia looked up darkly. "If you came to take Epona back, you can FORGET it! Why don't you think about what you've done for a change! I won't open the gate until you change your attitude!"

"Ilia," Link said exasperatedly.

"Ilia, you don't know what happened yesterday," Colin said. He turned to face Link again. "Listen, I don't know if she'll listen to me, but let me try to explain about Talo and the monkey, okay? You crawl in through the tunnel in the back while I do, Link."

"Got it," Link said, giving Colin a thumbs up and ran back down the path. He found the tunnel easily enough, and knelt down and crawled through it.

As he came through, he heard Ilia saying, "I had no idea...I hadn't heard the details about Talo's capture...But, Colin..." Link stood up and took a couple steps forward. Epona saw him, neighed, and moved forward.

"So you still prefer your master over me, huh, Epona?" Ilia asked. "Don't worry about your horse, Link. Fortunately, it looks like the injury isn't too serious. You two can go together.

"But Link...Can you promise me this? No matter what happens on your journey, don't try to do anything...out of your league. Please."

"I promise," Link said, walking towards them and smiling.

"Just come home safely," Ilia finished. Link nodded.

Link opened his mouth to say something, but stopped. The sound of boar hooves resonated through the spring, and suddenly, the gate crashed open. A hideous creature upon a giant boar road in. There were other creatures with it, and they seemed to be his minions.

One of the creatures minions hit Link in the back of the head with its club. Link fell forward, unconscious. Then another shot Ilia down with its bow, and she fell as well.

The creature picked up Ilia and the also unconscious Colin, and left Link lying in the water.

When he opened his eyes, an eerie twilight was descending on the world. He jumped to his feet, and looked around. There was no one there but him.

He ran through the gate, charging down the path to the Faron Woods. He stopped short and cried out when he saw what had happened to it. There was a gate ahead cloacked in an ancient, forboding darkness.

He walked forward slowly and tentatively. Suddenly, a black hand and arm reached out, grabbed him, and pulled him through the forboding gate, into the enigma beyond.

--

A/N: Again, really short. I think they'll get longer now, because we're getting into the really good part of the game. I hope they get longer, 'cause they'll be better than. W00t.


End file.
